Improved stave-machine



` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS HANVEY, OF ELMA, NEW YORK.

IMPROVED STAVE-MACHIN E.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,649, dated August 25, 1863.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-4

Be it known that I, THOMAS HANVEY, `of Elma, in the county ot' Erie and State ot' New York, have made and invented a certain new and Improved Machine for Manufacturing Staves for Barrels and Similar Products; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full and accurate description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specication, and to the letters of reference marked thereon-same letters referring to like parts in both figures.

Of said drawings, Figure 1 is a side eleva tion of my improved machine, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.

The machine consists, essentially, of a cutting or slicing apparatus and a series ot' rollers so contrived and arranged as to receive the stave while yet warm from the knife, and, by powerful pressure,rgive it that permanent shape which is essential in the manufacture of barrels.

To cut oft' the stave I make nse'of a Inachine similar to that described in a former application for patent by me. In this machine, A is a box, into which the bolt or block from which the staves are to be cnt is placed. This box is carried back and forth by means ot' a crank motion derived from any suitable power. As the box, passes over the knife edge K (seen in red lines in Fig. l) the latter cuts a slice oft" the block, which slice falls down an inclined plane onto the center roller, and, passing over it and between the irst outer roller, is carried round and successively between aseries of rollers, R, which may be multi plied to any extent. Thence the slice passi s out chine.

Before submitting a block of wood to the action of a machine of this kind, which is intended to cut across the gra-in in a longitudinal direction, it is necessary to steam it (the wood) th'oro u gh l y. soften, and it' the staves are leftJ just as they comeif'rom the knife theyhave acertain roughness and porosity which untits them for the tiner kinds of work; but by subjecting them to great pressure between a series of four or more rollers, as I do here, the wood is rendered smooth and compact, while its previously soft condition causes it to retain any form which the rollers mayimpress upon it. Hence, by having the center roller bilged and the outside rollers concave, the stave is accurately formed to the bilge of the cask, so as to be ready for use without further steaming or heating up.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y The combination ot' the box A and knife K, as arranged in the frame B, with the rollers R It, whereby the staves are passed directly from the slicing-machine to the pressing and forming rollers, thus securing greater perfection in the shape ot' the stave and greater compactness in the material than can be other- Wise obtained.

THOS. HANVEY.

This causes it to expand and 

